主题：美国WASP统治的衰落？ -- 晨枫
The anglophone Canadians are different from WASP? Not sure about their origins, though.
加拿大经济和美国连在一起，美国衰落不可避免地把加拿大拖下水，这个没有什么疑问，也不因为此，加拿大人看不见美国的衰落，因为这不是expectation而是prediction。至于魁北克人，他们比Engligh Canadian更加亲美。
美国、加拿大走向孤立主义，这是衰落过程中必然的事。但孤立主义能维持美国的繁荣吗？不要忘了，美国的繁荣开始于走出孤立主义，欧洲的衰落也开始与孤立主义/保护主义。
就是南德对北德，背后是其它大国。南德是天主教的，北德的贵族是新教贵族。
魁北克人，他们比Engligh Canadian更加亲美
--I am a bit surprised by this comment. I recently live in Quebec for a long period and interact with them (from Liberal party leaders to low-level working class people) day by day. You will be shocked to hear what they say about America.
I fully understand that Albertans do not like Quebecois due to their overreliance on the federal fiscal support, and I do not have nice comments regarding some of the lazy Quebecois, but your comment above is too shocking.
孤立主义能维持美国的繁荣吗？
--in 19th century, it helped America to fend off European industrial products and built up it own manufacturing sector. Canada, under Sir John MacDonald, practised the same close-market policy and achieved the same target.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:smxoW8uGDpAJ:faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/federal/npolicy.htm+john+macdonald+protective+industrial+policy&cd=2&hl=zh-CN&ct=clnk&client=firefox-a
Do not listen to the blahblah talk about Free Trade. America-Canada rose to global economic power exactly due to its tariff protection against foreign industrial products at its infancy stage.
美国的繁荣开始于走出孤立主义，
--America's global political dominance started with 开始于走出孤立主义 under FDR.
欧洲的衰落也开始与孤立主义/保护主义。
--hehe. They fell in the trap of the Anglo-Saxon-American nations and fought two costly war on the EuroAsia land. The wars depleted their manufacturing, financial, human resources and resulted in the collapse of their colonial control. Post-war US research labs were filled with talents from Europe: you see Jews finally lived in peace with German scientists...
保护主义 is a common practice used by France, Germany and British empire until 1950s. Each of them had their own sphere of influence and controlled market and each of them did most of import-export business with their colonial nations.
Today's Global Free Trade order was established by America by forcing France/Britain to dismantle all their spheres of influence. And China is still benefiting from this america-created order called WTO-GATT.
for the last sentence. chinese king is smart.
魁北克人夏天度假去哪里？不是安大略，不是maritimes，更加不是落基山，他们去佛罗里达。魁北克独立的经济依据是什么？“我们和美国的联系比和English Canada更多，美国人对我们也更好”。
美国的繁荣和孤立主义的时间关系，要看繁荣是怎么定义的了。如果说是起飞时间，那还是在孤立主义时代；如果说全盛时代，那是二战之后，绝对已经脱离孤立主义了。
加拿大的孤立主义或许对欧洲大陆国家还有过那么回事，但从来没有对英美孤立主义过。作为前世界第一强国和现世界第一强国，大门对别的国家是不是打开，有什么关系呢？今天加拿大还是孤立主义吗？今天非对美贸易在加拿大经济中占多少地位呢？
First, I know Albertans have much anger against Quebec.And Quebecois are laughing stock there, so some comments quoted by you have to be viewed with doubt. BTW, I do not like the French ways of doing things, though I can understand their mentality, history and mentality well. Therefore, I am neutral in my statements.
魁北克人夏天度假去哪里？不是安大略，不是maritimes，更加不是落基山，他们去佛罗里达。
--you mean "winter" right? Quebecois are well-known snow birds for Floridians, just like maritime Altantic English Canadians. BTW, Florida is very hot and humid during summer time, it is not an ideal vacation choice for Quebecois (actually Caribeans ones are more popular among my french friends for cost and language reasons). Even many Floridians often do not stay in FL for the humid summer.
Another two popular destinations for French-Canadians DURING SUMMER: France and Lebannon. I ask several friends for reason: language/cultural similarity are singled out as the most important one.
One friend told me: it took him 35 years to realize that Vermont is actually closer to Quebec than to Toronto. What implies is that due to the bad memory dating back to 1950s/1960s, Quebecois still believe that it is better to go west than to go south.
魁北克独立的经济依据是什么？“我们和美国的联系比和 English Canada更多，美国人对我们也更好”。
--that's bluffing. Do not believe it. The Trudeau airport has busy terminals for domestic flights to other Canadian cities, but the new US-destinated terminals always have few people waiting in line. I noticed that when I flew back and forth between Canada and States.
Economic data do not support quoted statement. In addition, Americans, esp., New Englanders are not fond of "communist" Quebecois: WASPs have long memory about the French-Indian war, they are not stupid. Last time, when I had vacation at my friend's lake-side house in New Hamsphire, Quebecois were cited as his laughing stock several times.
Long time ago, Rene Levesque, the first-generation sovereignist, went to America to seek media support for an independent Quebec, away from the Canadian conferation. He had a fanciful imagination that the home country of Thomas Jefferson would support the great cause of Quebec. To his great disillusion, he got cold shoulders from WASPs and the media.
, I believe, is not the status of 儒家 or 法家. As you said, every major power is smart enough to apply different principles for different affairs. BTW, many principles of 儒家 still can be applied today, like 正心齐家平天下.
However, two problems at hand:
1. How to be (more) expansive? Currently we are expanding in SouthEast Asia and Africa and other corners in the world, which is good. But we do not have the military power to back it up, so...it might be good, but not healthy. Many strings have to be touched and many other countries bought, too much effort.
2. How to be more enterprising? By asking this I'm indicating the "spirit" of our people. Enterprising, as I believe, requires the people(or, elites) to be both expansive and disciplined. If we are not expansive, then we are doomed. If we are expansive yet do not have much discpline(too greedy), then we are also doomed. The contraction of British Empire, in my opinion, is much more cunning and significant than its expansion, while China has always been troubled by the so called 周期律. 从历史上看，每一次王朝的交替都带来了可怕的后果，往往是长达几十年乃至数百年的衰败，人民中的精华损失殆尽，更别提可能带来的技术上的流失。
*****Other thoughts*****
About education: Considering the aspiring mood of 读书无用论 in these days, I cannot help wondering what this would do to our children. People are disappointed as they realize that 读书 is not the 敲门金砖 to power anymore. Personally I donot disagree because it has never been, so why be disappointed?
Another matter: Young parents are more and more restricted to their work (higher CPI, salary not good) and study （各种各样的考证可以轻松的让我们消耗到四十岁）. Who, then, will take care about our children and their education？ It's almost ridiculous to consider marriage if you do not have a "solid" job, which is the reason I won't ponder it in at least 3 years.
中国西化已经是即成事实了，继续西化其实是死胡同了。而儒道再加一个目前已现锋芒的释，会是一种新的理念。自宋以后中断并不断走回头路的中国思想体系，现在又有了新生的机会了。一切尽在成本，美国的模式的根本症结其实也是成本问题，当斗争进入细化阶段，罗马架构的劣势一览无遗。剑与盾的比拼，现在又是一个轮回，至少在太空移民到来前，剑将很难有翻身的机会。
确实长了知识
事实上，就我身边的例子来看，由于只有一个孩子，父母有足够的精力与金钱，所以大多数父母对孩子的教育几乎狂热。由于遵循不同的原理，可能倾向性不同，例如崇尚自由式教育的父母也许会努力把孩子送到收费昂贵的私立学校，而更传统一些的父母会努力让孩子上一所重点学校。所有这些都要金钱、人情为代价，或许再加上孩子路上的奔波。总之，这是一个以孩子为中心的年代。
另外对父母中的狂热派，我还是希望他们讲究一些教育方法的，不然到最后小孩很容易对学任何东西产生厌恶感——类似的事情我见过很多次了。当然目前这情况，不狂热恐怕也难，需要大勇气。
儒家的虚伪，还是要提倡哈？
总体讲，我同意巴黎兄的意见，不能再把中国引回到“军政”或“毛式训政”的模式，唯一出路就是慢慢走向宪政。这个“中国特色的宪政”，不必照抄任何人，也不必着急，用TAKE EASY的心情，一点一点来。